One of the best pieces of advice that my dad has given me is this: “You can’t parent perfectly; your only measure of success is your children’s ability to parent even better than you and your willingness to support them in that process.”

Jolie believes in honoring stories through paint. When she’s not painting, she’s experimenting with recipes, or knitting, or reading stories. She creates her story now in Portland, Oregon with her husband Chris– who is the best listener. She tells her story here.

What do you create?

Paintings, mostly. But hopefully, those paintings create joy. That’s my ultimate goal. I think of them more like small bits of me that find their way to the wall of a child’s room, or to a spot near a favorite chair. And there they look down and offer happy thoughts, or reminders of good things. It’s a bit corny, I know, but I’m okay with that. I guess I just hope I create happy memories, and powerful stories when people look at my work.

Where do you create?

I create in my half of our spare room. Though to be fair, I probably have 60% of the room instead of just my half. Apparently, painting takes up more space than writing.

I also create in a cane backed rocker next to the biggest window in the house, since this is where I do most of my writing and thinking. I love this chair. So does Libby the cat– she stalks the chair, and the moment I get up for a glass of water, she jumps in it and curls up pretending to be asleep. She doesn’t fool me though.

And I create outside with my portable easel. I love exploring Portland on my bike with my easel on my back, finding a spot that says, “Paint here!” This is my favorite part. I love being outside with my easel and my paints. It centers me.

When do you create?

I’m not a morning person. Not at all. I work best from 2-6pm, which works out pretty well, because that’s when the light is best for landscape painting (This summer, I’m working on a series of landscape paintings en plein air). So I run errands, answer emails, and go to yoga class in the mornings. Then I come home, eat lunch, and write my morning pages before I work for a bit. The goal is one painting every weekday. Once that painting is done, then I’m happy with myself. If it’s not done, then I’m grumpy and useless. I’ll attempt to knit, or write, or cook, or create something else, but it’s all feels pointless if I haven’t painted that day.

I love watching people paint… here’s a video of gorgeous Jolie doing her thing…

Why do you create?

A simple answer is that I create to honor the Creator. Because I believe that we were created to create. To make stuff. To find the thing we’re best at and do it. For me that’s painting, which is why all the other stuff becomes pointless if I’m not painting.

But there’s more to it. I paint because I get grumpy, when I don’t. I paint because I learn more about myself and the world by looking at it through my painting eyes. I paint because it makes me feel strong and centered. I paint because I love color. I paint because I love the way brushes feel and the way paint squishes on to the palette. I paint to reclaim happy memories and find good in all the crazy infuriating confusing parts of of life. I paint to tell my own story. I paint to draw others in to my story with me, because when they look at my paintings they know part of me.

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Thank you so much gorgeous Jolie for this scrumptious peek into your studio… you = wonderful x 1000.

No, we’d have family picnics at the cemetery. We’d spend days on blankets, wandering between tombstones, reading the names, the ages, the dates.

My beautiful Great Aunt Lucy, a fire-haired fairy, would come with us in her best finery – swirling long dresses, looping necklaces and wrists filled with wide bangles. She’d dance her way through the graves, and say:

I just love coming here. It’s just like visiting old friends!

You see, Proserpine Cemetery isn’t just any cemetery – it’s got our ancestors in it. Five generations on both sides of my family have lived here in Proserpine.

I’m the creator of the Shining Biz + Life Academy, an incredible sanctuary & training program for women wanting to live passionate, inspired, prosperous lives and businesses.

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